Liverpool and Crystal Palace both picked up victories at the weekend.
Liverpool’s Sadio Mane and Crystal Palace ace Andros Townsend both topped the Premier League charts with the most successful take-ons last weekend as their respective sides picked up key wins.
Palace lost key player Yannick Bolasie to Everton late in the transfer window, therefore further pressure has been placed on new signing Townsend to provide the quality in wide areas.
The England international is direct, quick and effective when given licence to run at his opposing full-back and on Saturday he caused Middlesbrough all sorts of problems.
New striker Christian Benteke grabbed the opener while Wilfried Zaha also netted for the Eagles as they ran out 2-1 winners, though it was Townsend who displayed defining quality on the ball.
| Team | Successful take-ons | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sadio Mané | Liverpool | 5 | 89 |
| Andros Townsend | C. Palace | 5 | 77 |
| Adnan Januzaj | Sunderland | 4 | 90 |
| Adam Lallana | Liverpool | 4 | 90 |
As shown by the table provided by Opta, no other Premier League player completed more successful take-ons than the winger with Liverpool’s Sadio Mane another who was outstanding in this category.
The Senegal international joined the Reds from Southampton for a questionable fee in the summer, yet so far he has justified his hefty price tag with a number of superb showings.
Liverpool played at the newly-renovated Anfield for the first time as they hosted Leicester City, and they certainly met the occasion with a super performance as they ran out 4-1 winners.
Roberto Firmino (2), Adam Lallana and Mane grabbed the goals, and it was the latter who was the driving force for Jurgen Klopp’s men as he posted an impressive five successful take-ons.
Mane is capable of driving in from wide areas, as shown by his wonderful goal against Arsenal on the opening day of the season, while he is also a huge threat when running through the middle.
Both Liverpool and Palace have made some key signings this past summer, and the two clubs have every chance of bettering their respective finishing positions from last season come the end of the campaign.
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